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Could Pests, Dust Lower Kids' Odds for Asthma?

Publication Date:

Thursday, September 21, 2017

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Who would have thought that exposure to cockroaches and mice droppings could actually be protective? Indeed, a new study of inner-city kids has shown that early exposure to pest and pet allergens -- cockroaches and mice droppings included -- may actually guard children against asthma. These findings could prompt new strategies to prevent asthma, which affects more than 8 percent of Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease intermittently inflames and narrows airways, causing patients to wheeze and cough, and is a major cause of emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

The Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (P30 ES006694) is a Unit of the Center for Toxicology, at the College of Pharmacy, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. We also acknowledge the people – past, present, and future – of the Tohono O'odham Nation, on whose traditional lands we study and work.